Exploring Alpine Archives

From January to March 2019, I visited four archives in the Italian-speaking Alps. There, I had the opportunity to work on a variety of different sources: from account books related to annual fairs, to correspondences between local and distant merchants, and post-mortem inventories of mountain farmers. Working in the mountains does not just mean being surrounded by the staggering beauty of the landscape, eating delicious local treats and meeting nice people: there is as well – especially in winter – a lot of snow and closed roads, which sometimes force you to take alternative roads to get from one valley to another. Nevertheless, given the abundance as well as quality of the material in these archives and the commitment of the people who keep them going, I am looking forward to go back and continue the work I have begun this winter.